[ED NOTE: You can find the background to Willie Colon's essay over at This is what racists call a Merry Christmas: "Illegals in my yard".]

STOP HATE SPEECH AGAINST LATINOS
by Willie Colón

STOP HATE SPEECH AGAINST LATINOS
23 December 2009

Feliz Navidad!

The days of subtle discrimination are over. At least for Latinos it is.

The dehumanization of our community is not a laughing matter. This is wholesale discrimination against all Latinos and an affront to any anyone who understands that bias, racism, and xenophobia have no place in our society. The use of a famous Puerto Rican artist’s song is no mistake. The intention is to smear all Latinos is clear. There are “undocumented individuals“ from all countries around the world in the U.S. but with a stroke of the pen they have found a way to make the term Hispanic or Latino equate to ILLEGAL.

Using an internationally popular Spanish language Christmas song as a vehicle, racism has reared its ugly head again.

I take deep umbrage to having songs depicting Latinos as disease carrying sub-humans seeking free human organ transplants. If this song was about any other ethnic group: Italians, Irish, Jewish, African American there would be protests in the streets.

We must demand respect and am asking that the FCC take measures against the use of this musical hate speech. We Latinos should take sanctions against broadcasters that allow this filth to be presented as should we boycott their sponsors.

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It takes a certain kind of moxie for an advocacy organization to basically go on the record as praising a group of machistas for taking away the rights from one group to allegedly favor another one. That's exactly what Janet Murguía and her platitude spewing machine just published on their website. Am particularly flabbergasted by the two following paragraphs:

National Council of La Raza: LANDMARK HOUSE HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL IS GOOD FOR LATINOS, SENATE NEEDS TO COMPLETE THE TASK AND BUILD ON THE HOUSE EFFORT, SAYS NCLR

The leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) deserves special recognition for successfully fending off the efforts of some lawmakers to add onerous, costly, and unnecessary immigrant restrictions to health care that would have harmed U.S. citizen children. In addition, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus, and the CHC, as well as Rep. Henry Waxman, deserve considerable praise for their efforts to secure and protect meaningful access to health care for Latino families, children, and all families of color.

Despite serious gains, however, the House bill is still too tough on legal immigrants and their access to public health care. For example, the bill would continue the mandatory five-year bar for legal immigrants to access public health services. To promote an equitable system for all, restrictions on legal immigrants’ access to federal aid such as Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) must be removed. Furthermore, roadblocks to insurance must be eliminated by removing excessive verification requirements that raise costs, increase barriers to health care, and have been proven to harm many U.S. citizens.

SHAME ON YOU JANET MURGUÍA! SHAME ON YOU FOR KISSING UP TO DESPICABLE WOMEN-HATING HISPANICS! SHAME ON YOU FOR SELLING OUT THE INTEREST OF ALL WOMEN, INCLUDING LATINAS, IN THE ALLEGED NAME OF IMMIGRANTS!

And yet, it doesn't have to be this way.

Look at the world of difference offered by the Latina Institute with their post, Women and Immigrants --- left on the sidelines of health care reform:
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I am literally wearing my ethnic and national pride today.

FUCK YEAH!

Marisa Treviño not only is calling out the lack of a national holiday celebrating the Mexican-American civil rights leader. She is pointing to one of the most important problems we Latinos have in this country : Nonwithstanding our contributions to the cultural, political and economic wealth of the United States we are still fighting to gain the respect we so deserve as citizens of this country. That's why a national Cesar Chavez Day is so important.

From The importance of a national Cesar Chavez Day:
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